Yakutsk Beefcake

What do you think of when you hear the name Yakutsk?

1. Yakut, a Siberian Turkic language, spoken by 80% of the population.
2. Winter temperatures of -30 F.
3. The woolly mammoth discovered fully intact in the ice.
4. Beefcake







That's right, beefcake.  Yakutsk, one of the most isolated cities in the world (6 hours by plane from Moscow, 12 hours from Beijing, 22 hours from Los Angeles), is a sports capital.

Every year it hosts the Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships, and the International Freestyle Wrestling Championships, which draws contestants from 22 countries.




There's also a youth competition.  This is a team from Oregon that competed in 2011.














Imagine, your first time out of the U.S., and instead of the standard Paris, London, and Rome, it's an adventure in Yakutsk, Siberia.

















Plus the International Sports Games "Children of Asia" has been held in Yakutsk every four years since 1996.  It draws over 2,000 young athletes from across Asia, from Turkey to Vietnam.










Events include Greco-Roman and traditional Yakut wrestling, boxing, archery, track and field, martial arts, and swimming.











There are also local wrestling, boxing, soccer, and swim teams.















And for some reason Yakutsk has become a haven for bodybuilders.  There are annual competitions, with winners going on to compete for the Far Eastern Open Cup.

Almost makes you want to get on a plane.